The Basin Complex Fire produced tales of heroism, fear, frustration and acts of kindness and bravery as it ripped through some of the world”s most famous and scenic lands. The Herald recently spent time in Big Sur talking to residents and offering them a chance to tell their fire stories. As you drive into the valley near the Big Sur River Inn a hand-lettered sign says, “Welcome home Big Sur Souls.”

Levi StromBartender at Nepenthe

I was bartending, busy as usual. It was a beautiful, sunny day and all of a sudden I felt the pressure drop. It got cold and there was lightning, showers and thunder and it shook this building and people were scared. I was scared.

“It was a beautiful and sunny day like it was before but now there was a fire … It grew really fast … By the next morning, we were packing our bags ready to evacuate.

“We closed the next day (Monday) … We signed a waiver to stay thinking we were out of danger” and unpacked stuff and decided to stay.

But things changed the following Wednesday. “We left at 10:30 p.m. because the flames were roaring down Mule Canyon — from Nepenthe to Andrew Molera (State Park) the entire ridge was on fire. I”ll never forget it … It was quite a sight.”

Naia Cobb Fernwood Motel, Bar & Grill

Cobb was born and raised at Esalen Institute, runs the store and takes reservations at the Fernwood Motel, Bar & Grill. She lives on Partington Ridge.

“I was actually catering a wedding and I got a call that they were calling for a mandatory evacuation and I should come and get my stuff. By the time I got up there, the power was out so we had to get all our stuff out by flashlight. It was really scary and ash was starting to fall.”

Cobb said firefighters told her and her mother that their home, surrounded by redwood trees, could not be saved.

Her mother was resigned to it, said Cobb. “I was just bawling and terrified I was going to lose all my childhood things.” They stayed at Fernwood from June 22 until July 2 when the entire valley was placed under a mandatory evacuation order.

“People from Germany were calling and saying ”Oh my God, we have to cancel our reservations,” and people from San Francisco didn”t even know there was an evacuation.”

While Big Sur may be a favorite tourist getaway, to Cobb it”s different.

“Big Sur more than anything is my home,” she said. “Look out at the hills up above and they”re burned. It”s sad but it will re-grow. I”m grateful they saved my house — by the good grace of those amazing firemen. Yeah, they just worked their butts off.”

When she returned home to find there was still a home, Cobb said there was fire retardant all over the house and all the plants had died. “There was a good inch of ash covering our entire property.”

Chris StubbinsSycamore Canyon caretaker

Stubbins has lived in Big Sur for at least 25 years. He believes the fire will be good for the environment.

“For the most part it”s (the fire) a good thing but it”s a bummer about the people who lost their houses but we live in an environment where this is going to happen … the only bummer was the smoke and the people who lost their houses.”

Stubbins did not have to evacuate but said he was ready. “I had six or eight ways out. I could have escaped easily.” He had a swimming pool available for water. “I”ve been clearing brush for 15 years. I have always kind have been thinking about it.

“I think we are pretty much breathing easier and it”s a done deal for our neighborhood. That dripping fog (Friday) knocked a lot (of fire) down.”

David Wong, Erica BuffettApple Pie Ridge residents

Wong”s father, Ross Curtis, was arrested and accused of setting backfires in an effort to save the family”s Apple Pie Ridge ranch.

Wong said he reported a lightning strike on Grimes Ridge on the afternoon the fire started.

“I kind of knew we were in for something in some kind of weird sense.” He said he was disappointed in the “response time” of emergency responders, adding he felt a deputy was in “disbelief” about the sense of urgency needed to deal with the strikes.

He said he was “hiding in the bushes” when his father was arrested. “I understand they can”t make exceptions and they need to keep us out of harm”s way.” What we did “may not be the smartest, safest way to go but it worked … to stay and be present during it all. In staying we were able to save everything.”

Wong doesn”t harbor resentment toward the authorities. “I can”t get angry at the sheriff; they are just doing their job.”

There is a greater lesson to come out of the ordeal, Wong believes. “There needs to be more of a team effort.”

Buffett is Wong”s partner. She is an administrative assistant for the Big Sur Arts Initiative and was working on the Hidden Gardens Tour the day the fire erupted. That day produced “odd, strange weather,” she said. “We saw the fire coming up … southeast of us and that was pretty amazing just to see the glow and the flames.”

Francesca Mellinger, Ondine GortonOwners of Local Color gallery

Mellinger and Gorton sell consigned art from local artists only from their gallery in the Village Shops complex in the Big Sur Valley.

“It slowed business,” Mellinger said of the fire. “This is the time we expect to put money away for winter. It”s the middle of July, one of our busiest months”

During the evacuation the two women, with help from friends, moved all the art out in two hours and into storage in town. Mellinger lives in Carmel Valley.

Both women were on the Hidden Garden Tour the day the fire started.

“It was hot and the lightning came in and you knew a fire was going to start,” she said. “The firemen did a really good job of protection.”

Groton lives in Palo Colorado Canyon and her husband works for Cal Fire. “We did some serious fire (brush) clearance.”

But now she has other concerns. “I am now worried about winter — everybody is. There will be road slides, rockslides.”

Jonathan FarringtonGeneral manager Ventana Inn & Spa

Farrington said the Inn went through three separate “periods of exposure.” On June 23, above Graves Canyon, Farrington said he saw a tremendous firefighting effort at a bulldozer line.

“A group of firefighters from a correctional facility … these 15 men stopped that fire there. If it had been unchecked there it would have burned all the way to Big Sur.”

Farrington watched that part of the battle through binoculars. “You could see the crews running up and down the hillsides putting out spot fires.”

In the morning Ventana served regular fire crews rib eye steaks, eggs and salmon, but the inmate crews are separated from regular crews, he said. The inmates were served coffee. “I took the time to shake those men”s hands.”

On Wednesday, July 2 they were evacuated when “fire was coming downhill from the hillsides toward Ventana.”

Farrington worked with the fire”s incident command team in any way he could. In past disasters he said he has seen poor communication among various emergency agencies. But not this time.

“The firefighters are absolutely amazing. I have the highest praise and accolades for the Incident Command crew … there was a good information and decision-making structure in most cases.”

Workers are busy fixing damaged systems and plan on reopening the Cielo restaurant on Saturday, with dinners starting on July 22. The Inn is using the downtime to allow executive chef Kurt Steeber to work up a new menu. The Inn will be ready for guests on Aug. 1, said Farrington.

Keely Richter & Daniel DavisDavis is the maintenance man at Nepenthe

Davis was surfing in the Big Sur area when the fire started.

“We saw the storm blow in from the ocean and didn”t think too much about it … When we came in, we could see the plume of smoke over the ridge … and it didn”t seem like a big deal,” he said, speaking in a Kentucky drawl from his native state.

“The next day, the plume was 10 times as wide as the day before … People got nervous and started making plans to leave. I stayed until last Thursday (July 3) and left when the propane tanks blew up at Ventana.”

As evacuation experiences go, Davis and his girlfriend, Keely Richter, an archivist for the Henry Miller Library, say theirs was a good one.

“We ended up getting a room for a couple of nights for free,” Davis said, thanks to the hospitality of the Carmel Valley Lodge.

“We walked in and they say ”do you have any money,” and we said ”not really” and they said ”OK,”” Richter said. They also were able to stay at Monterey”s Bay Park Hotel at a discounted rate.

Richter has been back to the Miller Library since evacuation for cleanup and said in a separate interview that they planned on reopening as soon as the highway opened.

“Our lawn took a beating with some saltwater dumped on it” from ocean-dipping drops by a firefighting helicopter, she said.

Davis and Nepenthe bartender Levi Strom used their unscheduled vacations to surf on the Peninsula. Sunshine Freestyle Sports in Monterey let them use boards and wet suits for free, said Davis.

“I was more impressed with that than getting a free hotel.”

David MaloofStore clerk/receptionist at Fernwood

Maloof has worked at Fernwood for two years.

“We were going to town

that day (June 21) … It was freaky we were watching all these lightning bolts come down … It was still almost like a tornado — eerily still (at Hurricane Point).”

Later that day, “we were coming back and around Point Sur Lighthouse, we saw a plume of smoke and my first reaction was — not good. We went to Ventana — the overlook — and were just watching it above (Big Sur Inn) going up the ridge line — just watching it grow.”

A week later, Maloof said he sprained his ankle. “I was like ”I”m out of here,”” he told his employer. “Those guys (firefighters) did an amazing job … It was weird since that night (June 29) all we were catering to was firefighters. This is my first fire; they don”t happen back east like that. This hill back here (he points across Highway 1 from Fernwood) was just an orange glow. I”m glad it”s over.”